Suriname Energy Situation

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Suriname

Capital:

Paramaribo

Region:

Latin America

Coordinates:

5.8333° N, 55.1667° W

Total Area (km²): It includes a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.

163,820

Population: It is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.

628,886 (2023)

Rural Population (% of total population): It refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.

34 (2023)

GDP (current US$): It is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.

3,455,146,281 (2023)

GDP Per Capita (current US$): It is gross domestic product divided by midyear population

5,494.07 (2023)

Access to Electricity (% of population): It is the percentage of population with access to electricity.

99.00 (2022)

Energy Imports Net (% of energy use): It is estimated as energy use less production, both measured in oil equivalents. A negative value indicates that the country is a net exporter. Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

-43.76 (2014)

Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption (% of total): It comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.

76.25 (2014)

Source: World Bank

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Introduction

Suriname, also known as Republic of Suriname, is a country located on the north-eastern Atlantic coast of South America. The country’s total area is below 165,000 Km², which makes it the smallest country in South America. 80% of the country’s area is covered with tropical rain forests, with only 1.5 million ha are considered suitable for agriculture. The majority of the country’s inhabitants are located in the country’s north coast, particularly within and around the capital ‘Paramaribo’.

Suriname is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south & the Atlantic Ocean to the north. The region in the north is mostly lowland coastal area, where most of the land has been cultivated, while the southern part consists of tropical rainforest and randomly distributed inhabited savanna along the county’s borders with Brazil.

Suriname's Map (FAO, 2015).PNG

The country’s climate is mostly hot and humid through the year; equatorial in coastal areas, tropical monsoon further inland and tropical savannah in the south-western portions of the country. Suriname has two wet seasons; the 1^st and the main one is from April to July, and the 2^nd and shorter one is in the period December-January. The northern populated area has four different seasons: a minor rainy season from early December to early February, a minor dry season from early February to late April, a major rainy season from late April to mid-August and a major dry season from mid-August to early December .

Suriname has a variety of natural resources, but the national economy is dominated by certain mining activities and agricultural products . The primary mining products are: oil, bauxite and gold, while in the agriculture sector, rice and bananas are the dominant products. Suriname is highly energy-independent due to the combination of the mining of fossil fuels and the significant wealth of hydropower, thus, energy-wise, it is a very self-sufficient country. 

After Trinidad & Tobago, and Cuba, Suriname comes in as the 3^rd largest oil producer in the Caribbean.

Suriname is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS).

Energy Situation

Overview

According to REEEP (2013), Suriname has small amounts of fossil fuels reserves, which are mostly exploited by the government-owned company ‘Staatsoli’. The country has a refinery, which has a production capacity of about 7,500 barrels/day. With regard to these numbers, it is comprehendible that, amongst the Caribbean countries, Suriname is the least reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation. 

The most significant energy source in the country is considered to be hydro-electricity, which was used in 2010 to supply 95% of its electricity generation. Notably, around 26% of Suriname’s total energy supply is generated through Lake Brokopondo’s hydropower system.

A study that was carried out in 2014 has analyzed the Suriname’s energy matrix as indicated in the following figures.

The Energy Matrix's Key (Ramón & Humpert, 2014)

Suriname's Energy Matrix (Ramón & Humpert, 2014).PNG

According to this analysis:

• Suriname produces 17,350 barrels of oil equivalent if primary energy per day.
• The larger amount of this production comes from crude oil (15,600 boe/day).
• Hydropower accounts for 1,270 boe/day, while combustible renewables and waste account for 430 boe/day.
  
• The country imports approximately 300 boe/day of LPG, and 8,930 boe/day of oil products.
• The crude oil production mentioned above is refined and turned into 16,230 boe/day of oil products; thus divided to: 6,790 boe/day which are used for electricity generation and 9,380 boe/day are designed for export.
• Suriname also produces around 1,270 boe/day of hydropower & 2,200 boe/day of electricity.
  
• Suriname's total losses from heat and waste are approximately 6,000 boe/day.
• The country's total final consumption is about 11,000 boe/day, distributed as follows: 

1. 410 boe/day from CR&W.
2. 300 boe/day from LPG.
3. 2,200 boe/day from electricity.
4. 8,080 boe/day from oil products.

• The country's total consumption is divided among different sectors as follows:

1. 5,100 boe/day for transportation (~45%).
2. 1,500 boea/day for residential sector.
3. 1,200 boe/day for the industrial sector.
4. Other sectors (e.g. agriculture ..) altogether combine for 3,200 boe/day.

Energy Access

Suriname's Total Access to Electricity 1990-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018).PNG

Suriname's Urban & Rural Access to Electricity 1990-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

As shown in the last two graphs, the electrification rate in the country has been going down through the 2000s, which requires more attention for the country's energy supply and demand.

Table.1: Suriname's Total, Urban & Rural Access to Electricity

	Total Access				Rural	Urban
Year	2000	2010	2014	2016	2016	2016
Population (%)	97	91	88	87	96	69

Suriname's Access to Clean Cooking 2000-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.2: Clean Cooking Access Percentages in Suriname 2000-2016

Year	2000	2010	2014	2016
Population (%)	80	87	89	90

Production

Suriname’s total energy production in 2016 was approximately 0.9Mtoe.

Suriname's Total Energy Supply 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Installed Capacity

In 2010, Suriname’s total installed electricity capacity was 355MW, which were distributed as follows: 15MW from Staatsoile, 78MW from Suralco, 82 MW from EBS and 180MW from hydropower.

The installed capacity by 2016 was around 504,000kW, from which 61% were from fossil fuels, 38% were from hydroelectric plants and about 1% from renewable sources.

Consumption

Suriname's Total Final Consumption by Energy Source 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Sectorial Total Final Consumption (IEA, 2018)

Import and Export

Suriname's Net Energy Imports 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

In 2017, Suriname’s total exports were approximately $2.69B, from which refined petroleum was about $133M (~5%), and rough wood was $68.2M (~2.5%).

Electricity

Table.3: Suriname's General Electricity Data in 2017

Indicator	Production	Consumption	Exports	Imports	Installed Generating Power
Capacity	1.967 billion kWh	1.75 kWh	0	0	504,000 kW
World Ranking	138	144	204	206	149

Table.4: Suriname's Electricity Installed Capacity by Source

Source	Fossil Fuels	Nuclear Fuels	Hydroelectric Plants	Renewable Sources
% of Total Installed Capacity	61	0	38	1
World Rank	129	189	56	145

Suriname's Total Electricity Generation by Fuel 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Total Electricity Consumption 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Different Shares of Electricity Generation by Fuel in 2016 (IEA, 2018)

Around 5% of Suriname's total electricity production comes through small power generators, which are managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources. These small power generators are located in remote interior areas of the country, and are operated by independent contractors.

Suriname's power sector consists of a number of individual power systems, of which some are interconnected. In the region of Paramaribo, electric power is supplied by means of: 180MW of hydroelectric power, supplying about 75% of the energy, and 66MW of diesel generation.

Suriname's independent power systems are listed belowe:

• EPAR (82MW, which is owned by EBS, and centers on Paramaribo and its surroundings).
• ENIC (15.9MW, which is also owned by EBS, and covers Nieuw Nickerei and its surrounding area).
• The Rural District Power Systems (around 18MW, and owned by EBS as well)
• Brokopondo's Distribution Systems.

All the mentioned power systems above are located along the coastline. Within the country's interior, 111 villages are equipped diesel-fueled electricity generators, with a capacity range 15-149kW.

The main electricity suppliers in Suriname are:

• Suralco L.L.C. (a private-owned company with 189MW).
• N.V. Energybedrijven Suriname (N.V. EBS).
• Staatsolie Power Company Suriname (15MW).
• Dienst Electriciteitsvoorziening (DEV).

From those suppliers, Suralco's Afobaka hydro plant is the largest, and it delivers the majority of the electricity consumed. 

The electricity sector in Suriname has been foreced to be dependent on development aid, both directly and indirectly. The required necessary investments in the sector are either postponed, dismissed or scaled down, consequently causing a backlog of maintenance activities, and an increasing inability to keep up with the growing demand for electricity.

Energy Security

Suriname is a rich country in its natural resources (uranium, oil, gas, sunlight, hydro, biomass etc.), which with the current available technologies can produce huge amounts of energy. Yet, the country suffers few failures when it comes to the operational and maintenance practices of the existing power systems:

• Improper and/or outdated practices.
• Reactive/corrective maintenance philosophy.
  
• Insufficient funds to execute preventive or predictive maintenance.
  
• Management acceptance of deviations from engineering and maintenance standards.
  

Multi-Level Perspective of Suriname's Energy Sector (Lachman, 2013)

Between the richness of the natural resources of the country, and the poorness of efficient and proper operating and maintenance, the security of Suriname’s energy sector’s suffers many uncertainties, which can be divided into: 

-> (The numbers between the brackets are for a better understanding of the next figure)

• Internal Critical Uncertainties (stemming from within Suriname's own energy sector), such as:

1. The quality of the government regarding (energy) policy making and deployment. (1)
   
2. Energy consumption patterns. (2)
3. Willingness of public to accept unpopular measures to increase energy security. (3)
4. Adoption of energy efficiency and saving guidelines. (4)
   
5. Perception of alternative energy by the population. (5)
   
6. Discovery of significant natural resources reserves, in particular hydrocarbons, which are suitable for exploitation. (6)
7. Depletion of natural resources. (7)
   
8. Entrance/exit of large energy consumers. (8)
9. Natural resource exploitation (e.g. deforestation, soil erosion) and its effects on energy production. (9)
10. Rural poverty/urban migration. (10)

• External Critical Uncertainties (factors from the outer landscape -as shown in the figure bove-, e.g. from the global energy system), such as:

1. Oil price behavior. (11)
2. Climate change, natural disasters and their effects on Suriname’s energy system and renewable energy potential. (12)
3. Global economic climate. (13)
4. International technological breakthroughs and their deployment. (14)
5. The moment of global oil production peaking. (15)
6. Global willingness to put climate change above short-term, domestic and/or economic interests. (16)
7. Transfer of new energy technologies to Suriname. (17)
8. Relationship with neighboring countries. (18)

Ranking of Internal (Blue) & External (Green) Uncertainties in Suriname (Lachman, 2013)

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy Share in Suriname's Total Energy Consumption 1990-2015 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Suriname's Renewable Energy Share in Accordance to the Type of End-Use (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Suriname's Renewable Energy Consumption with Accordance to Source in 2015 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.5: Suriname's Total Renewable Energy Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Installed Capacity (MW)	180	180	180	180	180	181	186	188	188	188

According to the graphs and reports from International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Suriname does not have a strong renewables' sector at the moment. The country's production of electricity comes mainly from hydro power.

Hydropower

According to the International Hydropower Association (IHA)'s 2017 report on global hydropower status, Suriname ranks as the 11th country in South-America in terms of installed capacity with 189MW in 2017.

Suriname's Electricity Generation from Hydro Power 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

As illustrated in the following graph, hydro-power generation utterly dominates the renewables' sector in the country, with about 100% Suriname's renewables' generating capacity.

Shares of Different Renewable Sources in Suriname in 2016 (IEA, 2018)

Table.6: Suriname's Hydropower Generation 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Installed Capacity (MW)	180	180	180	180	180	180	180	180	180	180

Furthermore, the Afobakka hydro dam, which is owned by Alcoa (Suralco), is considered to be the major renewable energy system in Suriname, generating a capacity of approximately 189MW.

Solar

The 2^nd largest renewable energy system in the country is Rosebel Gold Mine Company’s grid-connected 5MWp PV system. The system's generated electricity is used by the company for mining purposes. 

The urban areas located in the interior of Suriname also have several ground-mounted and rooftop PV systems. There  exist as well the headquarters of the State Oil Company Suriname's 27kWp grid-connected PV systems, and the 500kw hybrid system (Diesel & PV) at a village in the interior of Suriname, named Atjoni.

In addition to the mentioned systems, the country has a limited number of small PV systems, which are installed in different places, including the Hinterland of Suriname, such as:

• 3 kWp PV systems at a school in Botopasi village in the interior.
  
• 20 kWp PV system in Pelelutepu (Tepu) village in the southern part of Suriname.
  
• 4 kWp rooftop PV system at an elementary school in Gujaba village in the interior of Suriname.
  

Furthermore, stand-alone PV systems are used by the telecommunication companies for powering their towers in the country’s interior. The ‘Medische Zending’, which is responsible for the health care, also uses PV systems’ generated electricity to power their cooling systems in their offices in the interior, and for keeping medicines and vaccines cool.

Alongside companies and schools, many citizens located in the urban areas of the Suriname’s interior have privately owned PV systems.

Finally, also solar boilers are used in the country for providing warm water in homes, yet on a small scale and mainly in the coastal region.

Table.7: Suriname's Total Solar Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Installed Capacity (MW)	-	-	-	-	-	1	6	6	6	6

Fossil Fuels

According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) & the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s statistics, Suriname does not depend mainly on fossil fuels. The majority of the country's energy generation comes from hydro power. 

The country has no clear statistics for natural gas or coal, but its fossil fuels' use comes solely from oil, as shown in the following chapter. 

Crude Oil & Refined Petroleum Products

Table.8: Suriname's Crude Oil General Indicators

Indicator	Production	Exports	Imports	Proved Reserves
Capacity	17,000 bbl/day	0 bbl/day	820 bbl/day	84.2 million bbl
World Ranking	68	200	80	70

Suriname's Production of Crude Oil and Other Oil Products 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Final Consumption of Oil and Oil Products 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Different Sectors' Shares of Final Oil Consumption in 2016 (IEA, 2018)

Table.9: Suriname's Refined Oil Products' General Indicators

Indicator	Production	Consumption	Exports	Imports
Capacity	7,571 bbl/day	13,000 bbl/day	14,000 bbl/day	10,700 bbl/day
World Ranking	101	157	74	145

Key Problems of the Energy Sector

The main problems and challenges that face Suriname's energy sector are listed as follows:

• Regulatory policies are weak, as clear policies are lacking, which makes it difficult to formulate goals and plans.
  
• Net-metering is not implemented.
  
• Feed-in tariff schemes cannot be deployed.
  
• Renewable portfolio standards are missing.
  
• Energy efficiency is lacking.
• Appliance labelling requirements do not exist.
  
• Fiscal incentives are inadequate.
  
• No public loans or grants aimed at energy efficiency are available.
  
• Decision makers lack the proper understanding to establish long term sustainable development plans.
  
• The shortage of expertise and the limited research capacity in the country.
  
• The existence of institutional and financial constraints.
  

Policy Framework, Laws and Regulations

• Suriname’s electric sector regulations are dependent on contractual agreements, which are based on the 1957 Brokopondo Agreement.
  
• The project Development of Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Electrification of Suriname (SU-G1001) was initiated in 2013 to promote the use and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the country.The project included solar, hydropower and bioenergy.
  
• The Electricity Act, 2016 aims to update Suriname's power market's regulations for improving both technical and financial situations of the sector. It also allows privatisation and enhancing the country's energy's regulatory framework.
  

As a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the country has targets of 20%, 28% and 47% renewable electricity generation to be reached by 2017, 2022 and 2027 respectively.

Suriname has no legislative framework for electricity or renewable energy, yet it is being developed by the country. The country’s 2012 electric power sector draft green paper establishes the main guidelines for composing an electricity act. This act should include energy security, judicial, institutional provisions and the need for an energy authority. It also should contain the principles of cost recovery, energy and economic efficiency, and environmental impacts in the setting of the national utility (EBS) tariffs.

EBS and Staatsolie have their own regulatory role in the country's energy section, as both are responsible for setting electricity's tariffs, both oil and gas consumption in the country. the later is also engaged in capacity building programs for its own staff and customers. Also, both companies are involved in regulating their service's quality, which includes frequent inspections and the accreditation of equipment and procedures in according to national standards.

The governmental role in establishing the legal framewrok for Suriname's energy sector is represented in the responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources to produce and enact the country's energy policy.

Institutional Set up in the Energy Sector

Table.10: Suriname's Main Actors of the Energy Sector

Institution	Abbreviation + Website	Role
Energie Bedrijven Suriname/Energy Company Suriname	EBS	A state-owned company A monopoly on electricity distribution to general public It wons thermal power plants
Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V./State Oil Company of Suriname	Staatsolie	A limited liability company  Suriname state is its sole shareholder It explores for, produces and refines crude oil
Suriname Aluminum Company	Suralco	Around 1963, it built a dam creating a reservoir for a hydropower production plant (185MW) 65MW of produced electricity is transported to Paramaribo  Supporting the demand that cannot be supplied by EBS
The Electrification Supply Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources	DEV	Responsible for energy supply in the interior
Natuurlijke Hulpbronnen/The Ministry of Natural Resources	NH	Responsible for the development and excution of Suriname's energy policy

Further Information

• The impact of climate change on the wind energy resources of Suriname using regional climate model simulations (2016)
  
• Meeting the Energy Challenge, Regulatory Reforms are Key (2015)
  
• Sustainable Energy for all in the Caribbean (2016)
  
• The role of photovoltaics (PV) in the present and future situation of Suriname (2019)
  
• Energy in the Caribbean, challenges and opportunities (2017)
  
• Building on our own abilities, Suriname’s State Oil Company as a Development Agent (2007)
  
• Water-Energy-Food Security and Mining in Suriname, A project overview (2015)
  
• Caribbean Energy Sector, Macro-related challenges (2015)
  
• Reenergizing Suriname with less energy (2018)
  
• Wood Energy in Suriname, Contribution of Forest Sector to the Energy Supply (2015)
  
• PTB project "Quality Infrastructure for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy" in Latin America and the Caribbean